Apple Computer can lay claim to having bankrolled one of the most famous Super Bowl spots in history. The ‘1984’ ad that launched the original Macintosh is the sort of thing Adweek refers to with phrases like “as good as it gets.” This past weekend marked the 30th anniversary of the spot’s debut, so naturally Apple was expected to follow up with… something.

(Or, this weekend’s Super Bowl was close enough to the 30th anniversary, as ‘1984’ actually premiered in at least one marked in December ’83, and went wide in January ’84 during the Super Bowl.)

But Apple did not buy Super Bowl air time, because who needs such a thing when you’re Apple? The company instead dropped a long spot online. ‘1.24.14’ captures images during a 36-hour span in geographic regions starting in Melbourne, Australia and moving west through more than a dozen other locations to Seattle, all the while showing the neat stuff people do with Apple products. The spot is directed by Jake Scott, son of Ridley (who directed ‘1984’), and created by a team of fifteen crews placed around the globe and synced to Scott’s command center via data cables and FaceTime calls.

Below, watch a behind the scenes video that shows how you can create a great commercial with iPhones and an effective lack of a budget ceiling.